In Greece, the Acropolis was closed during the hottest hours of the day, while in Croatia, villagers cleaned gutters as a wave heatwave sweeps across southern Europe. In Italy, fears are being raised for the coming days, with the heat expected to intensify and temperatures expected to exceed 45 degrees Celsius next week in the central and southern part of the country.
Italian meteorologists call the next phase of the heat wave “Charon” – a reference to the ferryman of Hades according to Greek mythology. He will succeed this week’s “Cerberus,” named after the three-headed dog, guardian of the Underworld. The European Space Agency (ESA), whose satellites monitor land and sea temperatures, has warned that Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are facing extreme conditions.
The temperature could smash Europe’s current record – the 48.8C recorded in Sicily in August 2021. The impact of the extreme summer heat has been highlighted by a report released this week that says up to 61,000 people could died from heatwaves across Europe last summer.
Joan Ballester, a professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, said France had learned a lesson from the 2003 heatwave that countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal could follow.
“There are measures that are relatively cheap, like, for examplethe coordination of government entities and also an inventory of vulnerable populations,” said Ballester, one of the study’s authors.
“But they exist [και] much more expensive measures, such as for example the redesign of cities to improve housing conditions,” he told Reuters, according to the Athens News Agency.
In Athens, the archaeological site of the Acropolis suspended its operation from 12 noon until 5 pm. In Croatia, 56 firefighters with 20 vehicles and three aircraft tried to bring under control a forest fire that spread rapidly on Thursday due to strong southerly winds near the Adriatic Sea town of Šibenik.
The fire consumed the village Grebastitsa, cars and houses have been destroyed. Doctors have warned that the poorest elderly with health problems are most at risk.
“They suffer from heart problems, chronic bronchitis, strokes, kidney failure”, said Angel Abad from the sustainable development office at La Pathe Hospital in Madrid.
“Most have a low socio-economic background and we know that in these cases people who do not have air conditioning are more vulnerable. They face greater risk and greater mortality when they arrive at hospital emergency departments,” added Abad, an expert in preventive medicine and public health.
Source: News Beast
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